2028 St. Louis River Walkers: Starting our second decade

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Record: 44-30, 1st, 0.5 GA Des Moines
Alek Thomas completed a 5 for 6 game with a two-run single in the top of the ninth inning to help St. Louis rally for an 8-7 win over Cedar Rapids at Connie Mack Stadium (1960).
The victory allowed the River Walkers to avoid a three-game sweep at the hands of the Golden Grapplers.
Down 7-6, Cris Rosario led off the top of the ninth with a double off Golden Grapplers reliever Mauricio Cabrera.
A ground out moved Rosario to third and he scored when Edward Olivares doubled.
Jean Carmona was issued an intentional walk, only to have Steve Ruland follow with a single to load the bases.
Cabrera struck out Andrew Benintendi for the second out.
But Thomas followed with his fifth hit of the game, four singles and a double, to score Olivares with what was the game-winning run.
The Walkers owned a 4-1 lead before the Grapplers pounded St. Louis starter Brendan McKay for four runs in the bottom of the third.
Noah Naylor scored two of the runs with a double.
Joel Pal doubled off McKay to lead off the fifth and scored on a James Gamble single, as Cedar Rapids went up 6-4.
Carmona drew a lead-off walk from Steven Brault in the sixth, and three singles later, scored on an Alek Thomas single off Dave Schaffer which made it 6-5.
But Mark Vientos led off the bottom of that inning with a homer off Travis Krogman.
St. Louis pulled to with 7-6 in the top of the eighth, when Alek Thomas and Vidal Brujan hit consecutive doubles off Rick Atkinson.
It was a tough outing for McKay, as he allowed six runs on eight hits in five innings.
Krogman gave up the lead-off homer to Vientos while working the sixth.
Zac Lowther worked the seventh without a run.
The eighth belonged to Cory Tiller (0.2 IP) and Ernesto Barbosa (0.1).
Barbosa (4-0) would come out of it with the win.
Jose Alvarado worked a 1-2-3- ninth for his sixth save.

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Record: 44-31, 1st, 0.5 GA Des Moines
Toledo pounded St. Louis starting pitcher Kaneo Kawamoto for five first inning runs and rode that outburst to a 7-3 win at Braves Field (1946).
Kawamoto allowed the first five batters he faced to reach base.
That included an RBI singles from Jorge Alvarado and William Glynn and three-run homer from Shea Langeliers.
Glynn later added a solo homer off Kawamoto in the fifth to make it 6-1.
Mud Hens starting pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano allowed two run on four hits over six innings. He struck out seven and walked none.
Cal Quantrill allowed a run while he was pitching the seventh and eighth.
Ray Marr and Luke Dunkin took care of the ninth.
Dunkin recorded the final two outs, which was enough to earn him his eighth save.

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Record: 44-32, 1st, 0.5 GA Des Moines
Jose Alvarado and Ryan Holgate hit solo home runs and Allen Stephany and the Toledo bullpen combined to limit St. Louis to a single run in a 3-1 win at Braves Stadium (1946).
Alvardo put the Mud Hens in front in the bottom of the second with a lead-off homer off River Walkers starting pitcher Tanner Bibee.
The homer was his 25th of the season.
Two-innings later, Holgate got to Bibee, this time with two outs to make it 2--0.
St. Louis got its lone run in the top of the sixth, when Andrew Beintendi singled with two outs off Stephany.
Benintendi scored on a Steve Ruland single off Veison Santos.
Toledo got that run back in the bottom of the sixth.
Alvarado and Holgate were both involved.
Alvarado singled off Bibee with two outs.
He crossed the plate when Holgate connected on a two-out double off Ricky Cisneros.
Stephany (6-3) pitched 5.2 innings, allowing one run on five hits. He struck out five and walked two.
Santos got the final out of the sixth and the first two outs of the seventh.
Ray Marr fated one batter, which was enough to end the seventh.
Roberto Colon handled the eighth.
Luke Dunkin walked a pair of batters in the ninth, but didn't allow a run, to earn his ninth save.

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Record: 45-32, 1st, 0.5 GA Des Moines
Adonis Medina limited Toledo to one run over 6.2 innings as St. Louis downed the Mud Hens 6-1 at Braves Field (1946).
Medina (8-5) allowed one run on five hits during his time on the mound. He struck out seven and walked one.
Medina exited after allowing a two-out double to Cole Hinkelman.
Cory Tiller took over and retired pinch-hitter Kyren Paris to end the seventh.
Jose Alvardo and Travis Krogman both pitched scoreless innings to close out the win.
The River Walkers jumped on top early with two runs in the first and another in the second.
Vidal Brujan singled with one out in the first.
He went to third when Andrew Benintendi doubled and scored on a Cris Rosario single.
Benintendi crossed the plate when Jean Carmona hit into a fielder's choice.
Thairo Estrada led off the Walkers second inning with a single.
A wild pitch moved him to second.
He scored on a Keegan Fish double.
All of the damage in the first two innings came against Mud Hens starter Evan Foster.
Foster was still on the mound when Benintendi led off the third with a homer.
Toledo's lone homer came on a solo shot from Matt Bryant off Medina in the bottom of the third.
The scoring wrapped up in the fourth.
Fish drew a one-out walk from Foster.
A Medina bunt moved him to second.
Alek Thomas then made it 5-1 with a double.

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MBL news: June 18 -- All-Star fan voting update

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Record: 46-32, 1st, 0.5 GA Des Moines
Angel Tiburcio took a perfect game into the bottom of the eighth inning and tossed a two-hitter in St. Louis 4-0 win over Toledo at Braves Field (1946).
The win was the second straight for the River Walkers over the Mud Hens, and allowed them to split the four-game series.
Staked to a 2-0 lead by a two-run homer from Jared Thomas off Toledo starter Kleiber Bordones in the second inning.
Tiburcio didn't allow a base runner until pinch-hitter William Glynn doubled with two outs in thge bottom of the eighth.
The right-hander got Kyren Paris to ground out to end the eighth.
St. Louis increased his cushion with a pair of runs in the top of the ninth.
Tiburcio drove in the first of the runs with a bases-loaded single off Mud Hens reliever Roberto Colon.
Vidal Brujan made it 4-0 with the Walkers' fifth single of the inning.
Tyler Carter singled to lead off the bottom of the ninth for Toledo.
But Tiburcio retired the next three, two of them via strikeout, he whiffed nine altogether while walking none, to chalk up his eighth win of the season.

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MBL news: Week 12 Awards and standings

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Record: 47-32, 1st, 1.5 GA Des Moines
Jared Thomas hit a three-run home run off Des Moines reliever Ronny Carvajal with two outs in the bottom of the 12th inning to give St. Louis a 6-3 win at Busch Stadium (1997).
Thomas was the only batter Carvajal faced, and on a 2-1 pitch he drove the ball 399 feet over the right-field wall to win it.
Omar Benitez was on the mound to begin the bottom of the 12th for the Harvesters.
He surrendered a one-out single to Alek Thomas and a two-out single to Cris Rosario before being replaced by Carvajal.
Fueled by a two-run homer from Ozzie Albies in the bottom of the second off Des Moines starting pitcher Albert Hernandez, St. Louis at one point led 3-0.
But the Harvesters rallied.

Glenn Santiago led off the fifth with a double off River Walkers starter Brendan McKay and eventually scored his team's first run.
Carlos David Rodriguez hit a two-run homer with two outs in the sixth off McKay to tie it.
St. Louis closer Jake Brentz (3-2) earned the win after pitching a scoreless top of the 12th.
McKay handled the first six innings, allowing three runs on six hits.
Five relievers -- Cory Tiller (0.2 IP), Jose Alvarado (1.1), Ernesto Barbosa (0.2), Ricky Cisneros (1.2) and Luis Angel Medina (0-2) -- pitched the Walkers before Brentz took the ball in the 12th.

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Record: 48-32, 1st, 2.5 GA Des Moines
Down 3-1, St. Louis homered twice and scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning on its way to a 4-3 win over Des Moines at Busch Stadium (1997).
Edward Olivares provided the first long ball, a solo shot off reliever Kellin Tulio, to slice the River Walkers' deficit to 3-2.
Alek Thomas followed with a single.
And when Vidal Brujan drove a 1-0 pitch 420 feet over the wall in left field St. Louis owned a 4-3 lead.
Jackson Miller's three-run homer off St. Louis starter Kaneo Kawamoto in the top of the third had put the Harvesters ahead 3-1.
Kawamoto's struggles continued, he pitched 5.1 innings allowing three runs on nine hits. He did strike out seven and walked just one.
Cory Tiller finished off the sixth inning and got the first out of the seventh.
Zac Lowther (3-0) completed the seventh and worked a scoreless eighth.
Ernesto Barbosa allowed two bases runners, but no ruins in the ninth to earn his second save.

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Record: 48-33, 1st, 1.5 GA Des Moines
Rafael Devers homered twice to help power Des Moines to an 8-2 win and avoid a three-game sweep at the hands of St. Louis at Busch Stadium (1997).
Tied 1-1, The Harvesters took the lead for good in the top of the second inning against River Walkers starting pitcher Tanner Bibee.
Carlos David Rodriguez drew a lead-off walk, and moved to second on a bunt from Nick Pivetta.
Rodriguez scored on a two-out single from Jackson Miller.
The game's next run also came courtesy of Rodriguez, who led off the fourth with a homer off Bibee.
Devers made it 4-1 in the fifth with a lead-off homer of his own off Bibee.
The second homer of the game by Devers would provide the remaider of the runs for Des Moines, as he hit a grand slam off Zac Lowther in the sixth.
Pivetta exited after 4.1 innings with an ankle injury.

He allowed one run on three hits.
Cole Duensing (2-2) finished the fifth inning and also handled the sixth and seventh.
Jared Jones (1.2 IP) and David Amador (0.1) combined to finish the game.

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Record: 49-33, 1st, 1.5 GA Des Moines

Tied 3-3, St. Louis' Jean Carmona led off the fourth inning with a single, stole second and third and scored on a throwing error by Springfield catcher Jake Rogers to give his team the lead in a game the River Walkers would win 7-4 at Oracle Park (2020).
Both teams had scored three times in the third inning.
The Walkers would add an additional run in the fifth -- a solo homer from Andrew Benintendi off reliever Keegan Thompson-- and two more in the sixth -- Keegan Fish doubled off Mike Fagan and scored on an Alek Thomas single. Benintendi later scored Thomas with another single -- to go up 7-3.
St. Louis starting pitcher Adonis Medina (9-5) was not at his best, but was still good enough to earn his ninth win.

Medina allowed four runs on nine hits in 5.1 innings. He struck out six and walked none.
Ricky Cisneros got out of that sixth inning jam with no further damage.
Luis Angel Medina (1.1 IP) and Jose Alvarado (0.2) got the game to the ninth, where Jake Brentz notched his 11th save despite allowing a pair of base runners.
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Record: 49-34, 1st, 1.5 GA Des Moines
Springfield powered its way to a 9-1 lead, and then held off a late St. Louis-comeback to post a 9-8 win at Oracle Park (2020).
In his last start, River Walkers starting pitcher Angel Tiburcio had tossed a two-hit shutout against Toledo.
In this one he didn't make it out of the sixth inning having allowed six runs on seven hits in a credited five innings.
Tied 1-1, the Prairie Fighters took the lead for good in the bottom of the second when Mike Perkins hit a two-run homer off Tiburcio.
That lead grew to 5-1 in the third when Nolan Jones went deep with another two-run job off Tiburcio.
Dylan Crews led off the sixth with a triple off Tiburcio, which sent him to the shower.
Ricky Cisneros took over, but didn't bring his stuff with him.
Jones drove in Crews with a gorund out.
The wheels then came off for Cisneros, as he allowed two singles and two walks -- the second walk to Riley Greene driving in a run.
Luis Angel Medina replaced Cisneros, and the first batter he faced, Mathew Lugo, drove in a run with a sacrifice fly.
Alex Otero followed with a single, scoring another run to make it 9-1.
But the Walkers came charging back, beginning with a lead-off homer from Chris Rosario off Owen Sharts to open the top of the seventh.
St. Louis added four more runs in the eighth to pull with 9-6.
In the ninth, Andrew Benintendi smacked a two-run homer off Juan Then to pull the Walkers within a run with one out.
But Then collected himself, getting Ozzie Albies to ground out and Rosario to fly out to end it.
Fighters starting pitcher Dave Mikolon pitched three innings, allowing one run on two hits, before exiting with a mild calf strain.
Kyle Barraclough worked the fourth and fifth innings, without allowing a run.
Barraclough (3-1) would come out of it with the win.
Six relievers -- Justin Jarvis (0.2 IP), Mike Fagan (0.1), Owen Sharts (0.1), Keegan Thompson (0.2), Mario Reyes (0.1) and Then (1.2) -- combined to wrap things up.
For Then, he earned his 14th save.

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Walkers news: June 25 -- Mid-season note from the owners

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MBL news: June 25 -- All-Star fan voting update

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Record: 49-35, 1st. 0.5 GA Des Moines
Raul Ahumada went the distance tossing a three-hitter in Springfield's 3-1 win over St. Louis at Oracle Park (2020)..
With the victory, the Prairie Fighters took the final two games of their three-game series against the River Walkers.
Ahumada needed 127 pitches to record the 27 outs. He allowed three hits while striking out five and walking one.
The lone hit he allowed was a solo homer to Walkers starting pitcher Brendan McKay in the sixth inning.
By that time, Springfield already led 3-0.
The Fighters jumped on top with a run in bottom of the first.
Riley Greene led off with a double.
A Matthew Lugo singled moved him to third, and he scored when Alex Otero hit into a double play.
That lead became 2-0 in the fourth.
Dylan Crews led off with a double off McKay, and scored on a Jake Rogers double.
Otero hit a solo homer with two outs in the fifth off McKay to make it 3-0.

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MBL news: Week 13 Awards and standings

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Record: 50-35, 1st, 1.5 GA Des Moines
Kaneo Kawamoto allowed one run over seven innings to lead St. Louis to a 4-1 win over Milwaukee at Busch Stadium (1997).
Kawamoto (5-6) allowed one run on four hits in his time on the mound. He struck out seven and walked three.
The lone run Kawamoto allowed came in the top of the sixth when a Nomar Mazara sacrifice fly scored Tristain Hanoian, who had led off the inning with a single.
That tied the game 1-1.
But the River Walkers regained the lead in the bottom of the sixth.
Alek Thomas led off with a double Keg Lifters starter Edwin Cora.
A Vidal Brujan bunt moved Thomas to second, and he scored when Andrew Beninendi followed with a single.
Jared Thomas made it 3-1 in the bottom of the seventh when he homered off Rodolfo Martinez.
Benintendi took Alex Claudio deep in the eighth to make it 4-1.
After Kawamoto exited, Jose Alvarado pitched 1-2-3 eighth inning for St. Louis.
Jake Brentz handled the ninth without a run scoring for his 12th save.

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Record: 50-36, 1st, 0.5 GA Des Moines
Ted Welch allowed just one hit while shutting out St. Louis over eight innings and Chris Archer completed both the shutout and the one-hitter as Milwaukee routed St. Louis 9-0 at Busch Stadium (1997).
A one-out single to Vidal Brujan in the bottom of the fourth inning was the lone hit Welch (3-6) would allow.
Overall, the right-hander allowed just the one hit while striking out nine and walking three.
At the plate, the Keg Lifters powered five home runs including two from Raynel Delgado.
Milwaukee's first run came in the top of the second when Erik Rivera drew a two-out walk from River Walkers starting pitcher Tanner Bibee.
He scored when Justin Davidson followed with a double.
That lead grew to 3-0 in the fourth when Hayden Jones connected on an RBI double and another run scored an error by St. Louis third baseman Vidal Brujan.
Delgado's first homer of the game came in the sixth, a two-run shot off Bibee to make it 5-0.
Alec Bohm took Walkers reliever Zac Lowther deep in the sixth, as the Milwaukee lead grew to 6-0.
Lowther gave up two more homers in the eighth, Delgado with a solo shot and Bret Baty hitting one with a runner aboard.

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The St. Louis River Walkers have signed veteran catcher Miguel Gomez to a minor-league contract.
Looking for a player with strong leadership qualities, the Walkers were glad to see Gomez agree to the deal.
The 35-year-old last played in 2027 with Quad City, when he hit .218 with 16 homers and 42 RBIs.
Gomez will be assigned to AAA Memphis to get some games in before a decision is made as to how he will be used.

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Record: 50-37, 2nd, 0.5 GB Des Moines
For the first time since April 8, the St. Louis River Walkers are not in first place in the National League South Division.
This happened following a 4-3 loss to Milwaukee at Busch Stadium (1997).
The win gave the Keg Lifters' wins in two of the three games in the series, it also dropped the Walkers a half-game behind Des Moines in the division.
Milwaukee's Landon Gray snapped a 3-3 tie with a solo homer off Walkers reliever Jose Alvarado with one out in the top of the seventh.
St. Louis had tied it 3-3 by scoring three times in the bottom of the sixth off Lifters starter Justin Buck.
Ozzie Albies had the big hit with a two-run triple.
Albies later scored on a passed ball.
Milwaukee jumped on St. Louis starter Adoins Medina for a pair of runs in the first inning.
Nomar Mazara drove in both with a homer.
Tristan Hanoian led off the third with a homer off Medina, pushing the Lifters lead to 3-0.
Medina (9-5) left the game in the fifth inning with an undisclosed injury.
Buck (11-4) earned the win, he allowed three runs on three hits in six innings. He struck out seven and walked one.
Seth Lugo pitched a scoreless seventh and got the first out of the eighth.
Alex Claudio retired the only two batters he finished in the eighth.
Bill Webb sent St. Louis down in order in the ninth for his 17th save.